At its Nov. 20 meeting, the City of Josephine Planning and Zoning Commission voted to withdraw a proposed code amendment (CLCA250002A) that would have allowed preliminary engineering to be accepted at the time of preliminary plat for all development types.

City planner Miguel told commissioners the proposed change could duplicate work and is better addressed as part of an entirely new Unified Development Code (UDC) rewrite now being restarted. "We feel this issue is better addressed at that time, and it's just duplication of efforts," Miguel said, and asked the commission to approve withdrawal of the item so staff and the consultant can address the issue in the broader rewrite.

Miguel said the UDC project is being re-kicked off in December, and staff hopes to provide a draft for commissioner review in January, with a latest target of March to wrap up work before the assigned consultant retires. Miguel said projects already under review (for example, an Exxon Sonic site plan) would continue under current regulations and not be stopped by the UDC process; submittals received before council adopts a new code would be vested under the existing code.

A commissioner moved to withdraw the code amendment (recorded as case number CA25Dash0002A); the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Miguel told the commission to expect a busy next meeting with plats and site plans that must be acted on to meet statutory deadlines or they will be automatically approved.

Why it matters: Withdrawing the standalone amendment moves the technical engineering question into a comprehensive code rewrite, which staff said should produce clearer, development-specific procedures and avoid piecemeal changes. Commissioners were advised the rewrite is time-sensitive because of consultant availability and nearby development proposals that could be submitted under the existing code.

Next steps: Staff will publish the UDC materials online for review and may call a special meeting to accommodate review cycles; the withdrawn amendment will be folded into the UDC process rather than reintroduced as a separate, immediate change.